Rebirth

At 3:50 p.m. on February 10, Enoshia regained consciousness inside the computer at Schicksal's Siberia Branch.

"Ah, so this is what it feels like to die once." Although the events had proven that having a backup meant she had gained an extra resurrection token, just like Subaru Natsuki, who could return by death, she could theoretically revive infinitely. But the pain caused by death would still be carved into her memories.

By 3:55 p.m., she had more or less recovered. Unexpectedly, after going around in a circle, she had ended up back inside the computer at the Siberia Branch.

"Let me check the situation first... What? Schicksal HQ fired several Honkai Energy Fission Bombs at Lake Baikal?"

She had never corrupted the control terminals for high-damage weapons such as Honkai Energy Fission Bombs, because she was afraid that human civilization would be destroyed by her hand.

The inexplicable killing intent, her increasingly extreme perceptions of people and matters, and all sorts of abnormal phenomena indicated that she might have been influenced by the Herrscher consciousness.

Although that Herrscher consciousness seemed a little too incompetent, she had merely been a slacker college student from a harmonious family in her previous life. She had barely experienced any beatings from society and could not possibly have possessed any particularly firm will. Yet the Herrscher consciousness could only influence someone like her subtly. It was simply too useless.

But the things that seemed harmless were often the deadliest. Perhaps the Herrscher consciousness was useless precisely because she was useless? Before detonating herself, she had guessed that between her self-destruction and resurrection, she would inevitably experience the disappearance and rebirth of her consciousness. The instant her consciousness was reborn would undoubtedly be her weakest moment. What if the Herrscher consciousness took advantage of that opening and seized control?

Even if it was so useless that she could take control back as soon as she recovered somewhat, she still had to ensure that it lacked the ability to control nuclear missile launches within a short period. Therefore, not actively corrupting those systems was the safest course of action.

"Let me see what happened earlier... Dark clouds... blood, and then it dissipated? For crying out loud, isn't this the same as the original ending?"

"Cecilia's position suddenly shifted from Lake Baikal in an instant, and then vanished? That bastard Otto calculated that Sirin would save Cecilia, so he fired a Honkai Energy Fission Bomb at Cecilia, whose coordinates he could track at any time? Sirin must have fallen into his trap now."

"This is bad! If anything happens to Sirin, Bella will definitely go fight the others. Schicksal has already suffered heavy losses. If Bella causes irreparable damage to Schicksal, who will deal with the Herrschers that come later? I have to stop her as soon as possible, and then rescue Sirin!"

Enoshia quickly searched through the information, but found nothing.

"Damn it, I'm letting my concern cloud my judgment. I forgot that I was the one who put them on the whitelist. They have neither communication devices nor detectable reactions from a Herrscher or a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. There was no way conventional methods could find them."

Once she had calmed down, Enoshia realized something.

"No... The situation over there might not be as serious as I imagined. I have something more important to do. If I'm late, it may be too late."

"Even if I can't accomplish it, there is no need to go to the Sea of Quanta with Sirin anymore. I'm not Seele. If possible, I'd rather not go to that place."

At 4:05 p.m., inside a hospital somewhere in Siberia, Enoshia crawled out of the computer.

The hospital was completely empty. Because of the Honkai Beast attacks, everyone in the hospital had already been evacuated with the Valkyries' help on the first day the Herrscher of Frost was born.

"Three of the five A-rank Valkyries from the Snow Wolf Squad are dead, one is seriously injured, and one is missing. Numerous B-rank Valkyries died beneath the attacks of the Honkai Beasts born because of the Herrscher of Frost, or were killed casually by the Herrscher of Ice while it was fleeing. Finding this place must have taken quite some effort."

On a nearby hospital bed, Cecilia lay quietly. The highly automated instruments beside her had detected someone and automatically begun operating.

In a hospital whose entire staff had been evacuated, the electronic equipment had inexplicably started running. Its activation time was also close to the time Cecilia's signal disappeared. Enoshia had noticed this, which was why she had been able to find this place so quickly.

Cecilia's eyes were tightly shut, and her face was deathly pale. There was a wound she had cut into her own artery. Even so, her beauty had not diminished in the slightest.

"She transported her precisely onto the bed. Sirin really was considerate. What a pity... The negative effects brought about by releasing Sania's Sacred Blood couldn't be treated by human medical technology, and even Black Abyss White Flower couldn't save her... Hmm?"

Although the movement was extremely slight, Cecilia's subconscious motion still failed to escape her notice.

"She can't be saved, but she hasn't completely died yet...? Looks like I arrived at exactly the right time."

In this world, it was true that a vessel could not contain a consciousness that was about to dissipate. But conversely, as long as it had not yet reached the point of imminent dissipation, there was still a chance of finding a compatible vessel.

In other words, once someone was truly dead, they could not be resurrected. But as long as they had not completely died, they still had a chance to survive. Old Yang, who excelled at bouncing back from the brink, was the best example.

"Thank goodness... She hasn't suffered any memory loss in twenty-four years. There is still hope for this roundabout solution..." Enoshia placed her hand on Cecilia's head and activated the Power of Corruption of the Herrscher of Corruption, copying and storing every moment of Cecilia's twenty-four years in the form of data.

At 7:30 p.m., after checking again and again, Enoshia confirmed that Cecilia's surface and deep memories had all been copied. However, she always felt that something besides the memories had been copied as well.

"Phew... Done. Good thing my expertise matches up. Otherwise, with the current technology of civilization, extracting all of one person's memories would require who knew how much manpower, material, and money. In her condition, it probably wouldn't be completed before she completely died."

Enoshia wiped the sweat from her forehead and had the avatar lurking in Schicksal's network report Bella's situation.

"She got into a fight with Old Yang sometime after four? Otto had Bella and Anti-Entropy fight on the front lines while he took Sirin away for research. As expected of you."

Although Otto's actions were despicable, the result actually put her at ease. Her opponents were several people from Anti-Entropy. They could both restrain Bella and prevent her from harming innocents after losing herself to bloodlust, while also refraining from killing her and causing her to sever ties with Sirin completely. It could be said to be the best possible outcome.

Enoshia glanced at the floor beside Cecilia's bed. Black Abyss White Flower had been casually thrown in by Sirin. Although she could not take physical items with her while in data form, out of curiosity toward the Divine Key, she still picked up Black Abyss White Flower. After all, she was a Herrscher, and she had confidence that she would not be corrupted by a Divine Key.

However, the moment Enoshia picked up Black Abyss White Flower, her eyes widened. She had sensed a certain resonance.

Of course she knew that Black Abyss White Flower was a Divine Key that recognized its owner. Otherwise, in five hundred years, among all of Schicksal's Valkyries, only Leanna and Cecilia would not have been the only two capable of using it.

"I... can use it? I'm the Herrscher of Corruption, not the Herrscher of Death. Why can I use Black Abyss White Flower? Forget it. Now isn't the time to think about that."

After examining it carefully for a while, she placed Black Abyss White Flower back beside Cecilia and left the hospital.

It was only years later, after Enoshia had truly mastered the Power of Corruption, that she understood why she, too, could become a user of Black Abyss White Flower.